Germany in 14 days

It's way too many places for 14 days. I count 10 different cities. With checking in/out of hotels and train or car travel, that's going to leave you with only a few hours in each place. I think you at least need to cut that list in half (or can you add another week?)

Many of those destinations really need multiple days (Berlin and Prague especially, I'd say). You've got way too much there. Days when you shift hotels, while necessary in many cases to avoid over-long day trips, are just not the same as those when you can spend the entire day enjoying the place where you woke up.

How many nights do you have available to spend in Germany/Austria/Czechia? Your arrival day is likely to be borderline-worthless due to sleep-deprivation and jetlag after the overnight flight. Your last day will be all about getting to the airport in Frankfurt to fly home. So do you have 13 nights in Europe and 12 real days?

Brian, hi, welcome to this newsboard with your first post.

I wonder if you have looked at our host's free Travel Tips, top left menu?:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips

Appreciate all the feedback. I had a feeling that was a bit overzealous :) Maybe we focus just on southern portion of Germany since I am visiting relatives in Dauchingen. Is Prague still feasible? 3 days in Munich, 3 days in Prague? Or stay longer and do small bus trips to other close sights from Munich and Prague? I have read that you can get off the train and hop back on later in day. Is that true? I have accepted we are only going to see limited sights so focusing on some of the more popular is our goal. Afterall, it has been over 30 years since I have been.

Thanks for all your input.

Can you fly in/out of two cities to save time? .

Hi, Brian. No, not realistic or feasible. What prompted you to come up with this specific itinerary? It hits the "big name" destinations that most of us are familiar with, but before you decide on car vs. train, I think you should ask what's in this itinerary for you and DW. That matters so much more than what is "popular" with the bulk of tourists.

A big comprehensive travel circle that "covers" most of the country might seem wise for "covering" the country. But I always think that any itinerary should be tuned in to the travelers' specific interests. Otherwise you may just be "covering up" the parts that would be most rewarding for you.

If your dad is from Germany, where, exactly? It could be interesting to walk the streets he walked.

One reason to visit Germany is to dive into old-world Europe... did you have that in mind? There are places where you'll find intact castles, buildings and communities from way back in history - even intact medieval town centers - but a trip to mostly big cities like you've created will only introduce you to post-WWII construction and organization.

Outdoor activities - hiking and biking, or even easy walks, river cruises, or mountain lifts - also draw visitors. Any interest in those?

What about museums (car? art? history?violins? porcelain? wine glasses?) There are all sorts of these things, something for everyone, all over the place.

I like your idea of picking a base town and doing day trips. That's often done easily and inexpensively by train. If you share some of your travel goals, maybe we can help you figure out WHERE would be best for the two of you.

Southern Germany: since Dauchingen is on your menu, some time in the nearby Black Forest might make sense.

https://www.black-forest-travel.com/places-of-interest/black-forest-railway.html

Gengenbach is on the BF Railway; it's a good base town for visiting other destinations by train.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g1142455-Activities-a_allAttractions.true-Gengenbach_Baden_Wurttemberg.html

Gengenbach innkeepers will provide you with a free rail pass good for trips around the Black Forest tduring your stay:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkgzMXQ7blQ

https://bw.tourismusnetzwerk.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/KONUS-Flyer-PDF-Download_GB.pdf?msclkid=433bcf3ec19e11ec8e0d0aed0ee344d5

The above post is a good jumping off place… what do you want to see/do, and what is your comfortable pace of travel. Your first shot looks like a LOT of time spent traveling from city to city without actually experiencing the cities themselves. Prague deserves 4 nights itself.

No need for a car in any of the cities

Wow. Love all the responses. Thanks so much. A bit of my travel may help you understand what I like to do. 6 years ago we attended a wedding in Shrewsbury, UK. We arrived in London, took the rail to Brussels. Spent 3 nights there and felt like we did enough. Then headed to Paris for 3 nights. Did a ton of stuff hitting the top sights and off to London for 4 nights and then to Shrewsbury for 2 nights and then back to Heathrow. I know I didn't see a lot but felt like I covered enough.

My spouse wants Berlin and Munich as must stops. I know that there are a few popular day excursions from Munich to the castle, Concentration camp, and possibly Salzburg for example. Assuming Berlin is the same. Love the Hop-on-Off buses. Maybe 2 or 3 in Prague and then Frankfurt. I am more about seeing the scenery, architecture and history, but not a huge museum lover like my spouse :)

My spouse wants Berlin and Munich as must stops. I know that there are
a few popular day excursions from Munich to the castle, Concentration
camp, and possibly Salzburg for example. Assuming Berlin is the same.
Love the Hop-on-Off buses. Maybe 2 or 3 in Prague and then Frankfurt.

Alrighty then... thread over. Your trip's planned.

I am more about seeing the scenery, architecture and history, but not
a huge museum lover like my spouse :)

You'll probably find some history in the museums of Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt. The old-world towns and scenery in Germany will be there for your next visit, I suppose.

Hi Brian,

I am planning my first trip to Germany/Belgium/Netherlands this summer. I ran my initial way-too-overly-ambitious itinerary by my uncle (who visits Germany regularly) and he suggested to try stay in an area 2 nights, if possible. A friend of ours currently living in Germany (and soaking up all of the European travel as possible) recommended we avoid train trips over 4 hours. We heeded advice from both, and we whittled our trip down to 6 location changes over 11 nights, and it still feels too ambitious. All 6 locations are within about 3 hours of one another.
My husband and I don't mind single nights in a location, but we do try to limit how much traveling we are doing in a day, or within a couple of days. I try to avoid traveling more an an hour or two most days, and not more than 3 hours every couple days.
Even if you are ambitious travelers, I would suggest cutting out 2-4 locations, and decide which locations could be "2-3 night" spots. This way, you aren't spending large portions of your trip just loading and unloading, and sitting on a train.

NOT realistic to try to visit all these places in two weeks. Pick two areas like Bavaria and the Rhineland a go with that.

Also, consider going down the Romantic Road from Wurzburg to Fussen/Garmisch.
https://www.romanticroadgermany.com

We did a trip in 2014 and here are some of my thoughts:
1. You will want at least one full day in Heidelberg - walk the shopping street, visit the castle.
2. Cologne was pretty much destroyed in WW2, but a visit to the cathedral is a must.
3. The same with Hamburg. There are some wonderful small towns just outside the city. We stayed in Buxtehude and loved it.
4. Munich needs at least a full day or two. We chose to add a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle and it is one of our best memories.
5. Berlin is a great city to visit. You could spend 3 days and not see everything.
6. As much as we all want to see it all, I would suggest omitting Salzburg and Prague due to distances involved and focus on Germany. There are so many small towns that you could see on your way between the larger cities. I would recommend a day or 2 in Rothenburg ob der Tauber if at all possible.
7. I would also suggest you start on one end and fly out of the other end...like fly in to Hamburg (north) and fly out of Munich (south). or reverse it. That will allow you to chart a path thru the country without having to back-track to get home.

I'm going to second Russ's recommendation for basing yourself in Gengenbach in the Black Forest. I'm here right now and it's one of the most charming and lovely places I've ever stayed. I have really enjoyed my time here - there is so much to see and do in the area, and as Russ said, it's on the Schwarzwaldbahn (Black Forest train) line, so you can get to many places from here. It's also only 30-40 minutes by train from Strasbourg, France, which was another place I went to and loved.

I would skip Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Prague stick to the southern area as others have said. If you want to see some WWII history, you could add Nuremberg to your list, and check out a few day trips around there to places like Bamberg and Regensburg, which would give you a taste of Bavaria.

Agree with skipping Salzburg and Prague. It's way to ambitious as it is. Gengenbach is lovely. So is the Garmisch area. This itinerary would exhaust even the most seasoned traveler. Whittle it down some more. Pick the most important places and see how they put together. The costs of car rentals in Europe is sky high right now. Train would probably be your best option. But with that said, you don't want to be spending all your time on a train traveling from one place to the next.

As long as you are in Dauchingen, Villingen, the next town over has a beautiful old town surrounded by medieval walls and towers. It is on the Black Forest railway that runs from Konstanz, though to Triberg (Cuckoo clock central), Gengenbach, then on to Karlsruhe.